Anyone have any stories to tell? Plan is we'll hit Rome, Venice, Florence (sure I misspelled).
Gonna be there for 2 weeks, and I just kind of curious if there are things to definitely do, things to really avoid, and anything else interesting.
I went in July and we decided to stay more days in Florence than in Rome. BIG mistake. It was so boring in Florence we had nothing to do. Too many tourists. Heard English more often than Italian. Churches got boring really fast. Venice and Rome in my opinion are more fun than Florence. There's so much more to do. Rome's so multilayered: the old, the religion, the art, etc. Venice is mysterious, and you get lost but have so much fun around the labrynths of streets. Florence is just a bunch of churches. Boring. Maybe because I'm an art freak but not a religious person.
Make sure to check about construction/ restoration going on. In Rome EVERY single thing we went to see had scaffolding around it except The Vatican. Major bummer.
I spent about a month there a couple of summers ago.
If you have time to venture out of Florence, do so. The area is amazing. Go to the Cinque Terre - definitely one of the highlights of Italy.
I second achtung girl and anitram. Try to find a place to stay for 2-3 nights in Cinqueterre. Riomaggiore, the fifth of the five towns (on the way to La Spezia) is the best option imo.
Very romantic, tourists on the beach playing guitar and having a drink in the night, you will love it.
I'll second that--at any given time numerous museums, churches etc. are closed for restoration or surrounded by scaffolding, so make sure your guidebooks are current, or check the websites.Make sure to check about construction/ restoration going on.
As far as the art goes (and the architecture, and the views from the river) I completely agree. It is true, though, that especially if you're there at the height of tourist season, the streets can feel unpleasantly thronged and the air choked with exhaust fumes...Florence just doesn't have Rome's capacity to absorb immense crowds, and unlike Venice cars are allowed pretty much everywhere. It's a small price to pay for what there is to see there, though.Wait, you're an art freak and you didn't want to be in Florence? Are the galleries less impressive there than I imagine them to be?
Surely it's just cool being in Florence, what with the history and all.
Wait, you're an art freak and you didn't want to be in Florence? Are the galleries less impressive there than I imagine them to be?
Surely it's just cool being in Florence, what with the history and all.